The invention concerns processes and products for the detection of bacteria.
Bacterial contamination of water supplies is a major problem in many parts of the world, developing as well as developed. Recent bacterial contamination outbreaks in various locations in the United States alone have resulted in the death of children and senior citizens and sickening of others. Bacterial contamination of water supplies in the third world is responsible for the death of tens of thousands of people each year.
Water filters are commonly used to remove water impurities and to provide cleaner, more aesthetically pleasing drinking water. They are, however, expensive, bulky, difficult to install and replace. They can harbor harmful organisms, are inconvenient, and do not claim to remove or kill 100 percent of all pathogens.
The more prudent course when the bacterial content of water is unknown is to disinfect it by either boiling or through the use of iodine-based disinfectants. Boiling requires substantial energy, of course, and can lead to the degradation of the environment as trees are cut down for fuel; the practice in many third world countries where water supplies are most vulnerable. Iodine-based disinfectants, however, are not readily available everywhere. It is also well known that some of the iodine-based disinfectant systems currently available leave a distinctively bad taste in the mouth. Potentially adverse medical effects can also arise from the consumption of iodine for individuals having particular medical problems.
Bacterial contamination of food is also a major problem throughout the world. Salmonella, E. coli and other food borne bacteria cause untold numbers of illness each year. Acute symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever and headache. Chronic consequences may follow after the onset of acute symptoms. Clearly, having the ability to easily detect the presence of bacteria in food would be of great benefit.
Certain infectious diseases like, for example, chlamydia, are bacterial in nature. The rapid detection of such infections could result in more appropriate and/or more rapid treatment and relief for the sufferers of such maladies.
In our everyday life we are unknowingly exposed to microbial contaminated surfaces which can lead to illness. Studies have shown specific bacterial contaminated “hot spots” to include; public telephone, door handles, toys in doctors waiting rooms and child care facilities, hot air dryers to dry hands, towels and sponges used in the kitchen, the hands of hospital staff during routine patient care and cross contamination from food preparation surfaces and knives where raw meats and vegetables are mixed.
Lastly, rapid detection of other bacteria, like those in biological warfare agents, would allow a more rapid response to protect those exposed. Existing detection systems for such agents are slow, bulky, expensive and prone to error.
It is clear that there exists a need for a process and product which allows for the rapid detection of whether bacteria are present.